


Tempest

by SALTBEAR



Series: dream smp oneshots [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Blizzards & Snowstorms, But only a little, Canon Compliant, Dream Smp, Fluff, Gen, Phil and Technoblade are Old Friends, Phil and Technoblade take care of Ranboo, Ranboo and Technoblade Bond, Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29365752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SALTBEAR/pseuds/SALTBEAR
Summary: When a snowstorm hits, Ranboo realizes it may not have been the smartest idea to move into a tundra.
Relationships: Ranboo & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: dream smp oneshots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156787
Comments: 6
Kudos: 749
Collections: Dream SMP Fics





	Tempest

It might have been a slight lapse in judgement to move in next to Technoblade and Philza. 

After the events of what Tommy had coined as _Doomsday,_ Ranboo hadn’t been in the best mindset. Even while L’manburg was actively being destroyed, the boy hadn’t found it in him to protest any of what had happened. He later came to the conclusion that L’manburg had been terrible, and it had gotten what was coming to it.

It was a few days after Doomsday that he was approached by Phil regarding his living situation. After that conversation, he moved in next to the two, not wanting to come across as overbearing. He’d constructed a shack—and had been very insistent on calling it a shack—and made it as home-y as possible. It may have been a little cramped, but Ranboo found that that was often the case, considering his height and lack of organization within his chests.

It wasn’t too hard to get settled. Sure, living in a tundra was mildly uncomfortable—snow built up, unlike rain, and he had to wear his armor at all times to avoid getting hurt by the snow—but the solitude was something he appreciated. He’d gotten away from the environment that had put him through enough stress for the next year, and hoped that would be the end of it.

However, Ranboo was never that lucky, was he?

His stress had returned tenfold with the reappearance of Dream’s voice, and he spent most days trying to avoid thinking about how _right_ it had been about things. Ranboo would admit he had bouts of lost time, moments or sometimes hours where he wouldn’t remember anything. He’d wake up in places he didn’t go to sleep. He’d hear whispers of being seen in places he never remembered going to. 

He deemed that state of consciousness enderwalking, and then refused to think about it. He instead spent hours distracting himself, creating a comfort room, spending time with Tubbo, or mining away looking for more materials.

Other than those moments where Ranboo truly couldn’t distinguish what was real and what wasn’t, he didn’t really struggle.

Though, when Ranboo woke up from sleeping one night to the feeling of winds beating harshly against his body and the sound of his shack wobbling with the ferocity of it, he found that it may have been a lapse in judgement to move in next to Technoblade and Philza.

It was the first snowstorm that had hit since settling down near the duo, and Ranboo didn’t know what to do. When he sat up, he struggled to brace himself against the strength of the wind, and the feeling of snow beating down on him sent spikes of pain shooting across his face. He winced, quickly leaning over and pulling on his helmet and the rest of his armor before pulling himself to his feet.

The sound of distressed animals reached his ears and he quickly climbed down the ladder into his comfort room to check on his pets. He found that his cats had curled up with each other in the corner of the room, while his birds flapped their winds uneasily, squawking at him once he reached their line of sight. Guilt flickered across his face when he glanced back up, realizing that his cows wouldn’t have as much shelter from the storm. The only one he really cared about was Ranmoo, though. He pressed his lips into a firm line and spent another moment mulling over what to do. Then, he suddenly started climbing back up the ladder, sparing a small glance at all of his animals huddled up around each other.

He winced again once he breached the surface, pain spreading across his exposed skin once the snow blew against him once more. He caught sight of his cow and let out a small breath, quickly hauling himself onto solid ground again and rushing out of his shack to grab the lead and bring his cow inside. It really wasn’t much, but he couldn’t get Ranmoo into the comfort room, and at least this offered a _little_ bit of shelter. After a split second, he stripped the sheets off of his bed and covered Ranmoo with them in hopes that it would help. He wasn’t going to be sleeping anway, it seemed. 

The wind suddenly got harsher, nearly knocking him over. He braced himself against the side of the mountain his house rested against, closing his eyes for a moment to try and manage the needle-prick feeling of snow and ice hitting his back. It soaked into the bit of his clothes that was exposed, causing him to hiss through gritted teeth. 

Yeah, a part of him regretted moving into a tundra.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Phil’s voice. It was hard to hear what he was saying over the sound of the wind beating against his head and the shack, but he squinted and turned his head to look at Techno’s house. He hadn’t even thought about trying to seek shelter in there, too occupied with taking care of his pets and his distaste of coming across as overbearing. 

Phil was shouting at him through the window. The hybrid couldn’t quite make out what he was saying, so he took a step towards the entrance of his shack and strained his ears. “What?” he called out, forcing his eyes shut against the intensity of the wind. It was blowing his hair into his face, even with his helmet on, and frustration caused his tail to flick for a moment before he focused again.

“What are you doing, mate?! Get inside!” 

Ranboo hesitated, then opened his eyes as much as he could—which wasn’t a lot. Phil was gesturing at him, telling him to come inside. After a beat, Ranboo spotted Techno looking over Phil’s shoulder, and the older of the duo took a step back to let the pig-man take the front. Ranboo watched him cup his hands around his mouth, and this time, the voice he heard was a bit louder.

“You’ll freeze out there, Ranboo! Come on, come here!” 

The hybrid finally seemed to make a decision, looking back at his cow and then moving to cover him up a little bit more. Afterwards, he left his shack again, trying to get to the door of Techno’s house as quickly as possible. The pain flaring up across his body was almost constant now, though it wasn’t too bad. After all, the pain was more so mildly uncomfortable than agonizing. 

He almost tripped a few times, having a hard time maneuvering around in the newly-fallen snow and fighting against the wind. He hadn’t noticed that there was at least an extra five inches that had settled over the entire area, and was starting to regret not paying close enough attention to his surroundings. The snow stuck to his pant legs and seeped into his netherite boots, causing him to attempt to pick up the pace.

When he reached the porch, the door was open, and Phil was waving him inside. Once within the shelter of the house, he was hit with the sharp contrast of the warmer temperatures inside compared to the below freezing temperatures he had just been exposed to. It caused a full-body shudder to wrack through his body, and he braced himself against the wall while it happened. Phil stood in front of him, reaching out to rest a hand on his elbow. “Are you alright, mate?” he asked, worry causing his eyebrows to crease. Ranboo quickly averted his gaze, the hair on his neck rising at the eye contact that Phil was trying to initiate. 

“Yeah,” he stammered out, standing awkwardly in the doorway for a few moments while he gathered his bearings. He took that time to take in the rest of the house. It was relatively dark, save for the fire crackling in the fireplace and the few odd lanterns littered around the first floor of the house. Techno was sat next to the fireplace, ensuring that the fire didn’t go out. He caught the pig-man’s gaze with his own when he glanced over his shoulder, his deep voice filling the space between them.

“You should take your armor off. It’ll only weigh you down and press your clothes harder against you.” 

Ranboo stiffened for a moment, confusion flickering across his face. Techno rolled his eyes. “You’re a little soaked. Water and snow hurts, right? So it only makes sense to take your armor off.” He gestured towards Phil. “We’re both unarmed. We won’t hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Techno turned back to the fire, stabbing at it with the poker. “We would have done that a long time ago had we wanted to do that,” he added.

Phil gave a small hum, signaling his agreement. Ranboo hadn’t noticed the blonde man had stepped away, retrieving a towel from the dining table that sat between the fireplace and doorway until he returned with the cloth in hand. “Here, pat yourself dry. We don’t have an extra change of clothes that’d fit you, and I’m not sure if you’d want to change anyway.” 

Ranboo looked down at the towel that he was being offered, hesitantly taking it. He offered a small, grateful smile to Phil and after another awkward moment, he started to strip himself of his armor. He left his boots by the door and rested everything else in the corner of the room so that it was out of the way. Afterwards, he loosened his tie and removed it as well, then got rid of his suit jacket. Folding them both over his arm, he stepped around the dining table where Phil now sat and set them down next to the fireplace for them to start drying. That’d have to do for now.

Wrapping the towel around his shoulders, he stood back up and struggled to soothe the tension that he was ninety percent sure was one-sided. Looking between the two older men, he cleared his throat and finally spoke up.

“Thanks for letting me stay with you guys.” 

Techno let out a small grunt and then rose from the fireplace. He set the poker he was using to the side, then turned to look at the enderman hybrid. The sound of the storm roared outside, and Ranboo shifted uneasily when the house creaked beneath his feet. 

“You’re welcome to stay as long as the storm lasts,” Techno replied simply, his monotonous voice offering comfort to the young man. The dining chair scraped across the floor when the pig-man pulled one out and seated himself across from Phil, gesturing back towards the fireplace as if telling Ranboo to sit there.

Ranboo didn’t hesitate before carefully sitting in front of the fire, trying to sit cross-legged but struggling due to his long legs. He managed to sit at least somewhat comfortably, a little more sprawled out than he’d intended to be. He didn’t focus on that, though, instead shifting his attention to the warmth the fire was emitting. It was helping quite a bit, already starting to quell the shivers that had previously been wracking his body. 

He sniffed a few times, now noticing the runny nose he’d gotten from being out in cold weather for an extended period of time. Dread settled in his gut—he was probably going to catch a cold, and he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised when it caught up to him. Pressing the back of his hand to his nose, he pursed his lips together and sniffed again.

“Oh, mate…” Phil murmured sympathetically. “Would you like somethin’ warm to drink? A tea, maybe? There’s some over on the stove I started preparing not too long ago.” 

Ranboo looked over his shoulder and met the man’s eyes, seeing the softness in his expression that told him that he _cared._ There was a moment of silence, and then Ranboo nodded. “Yeah, thank you.” He spared a glance to the kettle that sat on the stove nearby as well, only noticing it once it was pointed out. Phil let out another quiet hum, and that was the end of their conversation.

It was relatively silent after that. Techno had opened a book after sitting down, reading glasses appearing on his face where they previously hadn’t been before. They must’ve been on the table alongside the book. Phil had been staring idly out the window, a far-away look in his eye that told Ranboo the man was deep within his thoughts.

The only sound Ranboo had to fill the space was the crackle of the fire in the fireplace, the sound of the snowstorm outside, and the turn of the pages in Techno’s book as he read through each page.

It was nice, but it allowed him to overthink. He’d never been too great at small talk anyways, and now that he was more than likely going to spend the rest of the night snowed-in, he didn’t have much to do to occupy his thoughts. His tail tip started to flick back and forth, a nervous tic he’d never really been able to get rid of.

It would have been better to just try and get some sleep, but he found that once he woke up, he often had a hard time getting back to sleep. It also entailed a good few hours of tossing and turning if he was in the company of other people. In the case of Techno and Phil, Ranboo quickly realized he probably wouldn’t get much sleep until the duo went to bed as well.

The sound of the kettle whistling stopped him before he’d gotten the chance to delve too deep into the horde of worries and insecurities that often plagued his mind. Combined with Phil’s sudden movement, Ranboo was happy to have the distraction. He looked up and watched the blonde man move the kettle off the burner that it’d been sitting on previously. He was humming a quiet tune to himself, and if the hybrid strained his ears and listened hard enough, he could recognize the melody of Cat.

Ranboo kept his gaze on the man, watching as he poured the steaming water into three separate mugs and then set tea bags in each. Phil then shifted to press his back against the wall while he waited, looking content. They locked gazes for a moment when Phil focused on the guest. Ranboo blinked a few times when Phil adjusted to look just past his shoulder, quickly catching onto the fact that eye contact was uncomfortable for the enderman hybrid.

“Are your pets okay?” he asked quietly, and this time it was Ranboo’s turn to let out a soft hum. 

“I think so. Most of them are in the comfort room, huddled up around each other.” Guilt festered within him and he wrapped his arms around himself, averting his gaze to look down at the floorboards. “I couldn’t get Ranmoo into the comfort room, though. I’m worried about him. I-I tried to put a blanket over him, but at the end of the day, I don’t know if it’ll do much.” 

Phil pursed his lips together before opening his mouth, but Techno beat him to it.

“We can try to bring Ranmoo into the basement if you want.” 

Ranboo’s gaze snapped up, mismatched eyes meeting brown ones. He took a moment to process what Techno was offering, and finally settled on stammering out, “Really?” 

The pig-man gave a half-hearted shrug. “You care about your animals. I don’t mind letting Ranmoo take over the basement for tonight.” 

The youngest of the three looked over to Phil, as if asking for permission from him as well. Phil only offered a small smile. “Yeah, I mean, this is Techno’s house. What he says goes.” The blonde main turned his back on Ranboo to check on the tea. Deciding that the tea bags had been left in there long enough, he started to pull them out, pouring in sugar and honey for two of the mugs. Ranboo assumed those were for Techno and Phil, and assumed correctly when Phil grabbed both of them and set them on the table. 

He didn’t sit down after that, though. Instead, he returned to the stove and looked back to Ranboo. “Do you put anything in your tea?” he questioned, and the young man in question supplied helpfully, “Sugar, please. Two scoops.” 

Phil nodded and got to work, carefully handing him his mug once he was finished. Ranboo glanced up at the older man, finding comfort in the caring expression sat plain on his face. Once he took the mug, Phil rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. “You know, I can go get Ranmoo for you. That way you won’t have to go back out there yourself and risk getting hurt.” 

Gratitude flickered across his face, and he gave Phil a nod. “Yeah, please. Thank you.” Phil straightened and shook his head. “Oh, don’t worry about it mate. I don’t mind, really.”

Ranboo looked down at his cup of tea, watching his reflection stare back as the light of the fire danced around his face, creating shadows that he didn’t typically see too often. By the time he looked up, Phil was pulling on a red cloak and some gloves. The sound of fabric sliding against fabric hadn’t registered in his mind, and seeing Phil get dressed up to go outside and get his cow left him feeling guilty. 

He avoided commenting though. He didn’t want to bring the mood down. 

It was a few more moments, and then Phil was approaching the door.

“Wait,” Ranboo suddenly said, surprising himself. Phil turned to look back at him, waiting patiently for him to continue.

“Would it be possible for you to light a fire in the comfort room, or to put the blanket from the downstairs bed around my other animals?” His voice was quiet, and he couldn’t help letting the guilt slip into his tone of voice this time.

Phil visibly softened and gave a nod, “Yeah, of course.”

With that, he was off. The sound of the storm got louder and the sudden burst of wind caused the flames to flicker and dance wildly, creating drastic shadows against the rest of the house. The door shut as quickly as it opened, and then Ranboo was left with Techno. He had noticed the way he glanced between the two during the conversation, and shifted his position when he felt his gaze was now settled on him.

Ranboo pointedly kept his gaze on everything other than Techno, primarily looking at his mug and the floor. Techno didn’t budge for a moment, and then his chair creaked and he turned to stare out the window opposite of him. “You know,” he started, “You aren’t the only one who deals with voices.”

Ranboo stiffened, wondering how Techno had known about the voice that sometimes plagued his mind, his thoughts, and overtook any sense of control he had.

“What?”

“I pay attention, Ranboo. I hear you thinking out loud sometimes.” The pig turned again, looking at the hybrid. He couldn’t pinpoint the expression on his face, but it seemed like something akin to empathy. 

“Oh.” 

He busied himself with taking a sip of his tea, ignoring the way it burnt his tongue. There was a slightly awkward tension that hung in the air between them. It appeared that Techno hated it as much as Ranboo did, because he cleared his throat abruptly and let out a small sigh. “I just wanted to let you know you weren’t alone. Our experiences may not be the _same,_ but it’s something.” The unspoken offer hung over both of their heads, and Ranboo found himself softening. Appreciation settled in deep within his core.

The hybrid lowered his mug, turning to look at Techno again, and even though they both seemed horrible at small talk, Techno had succeeded in comforting the young man. 

“Thank you.” 

Techno rolled his eyes and gave him a small shrug, turning back to his book and adjusting the reading glasses on his face. “Yeah.” 

Ranboo paused to look to the door, straining his ears to see if he could hear the sound of Phil or his cow nearby. The question was leaving his mouth before he even realized it. 

“What about Phil?”

“What about him?” Techno countered without looking up from the page he was reading.

Ranboo hesitated, uncertainty flickering in his mismatched eyes. “Would he be able to help me, if I needed it? With the-With the voice?” 

The chair creaked again and when he looked back to Techno, his eyes were on him again. He seemed to be searching for something, but for _what_ Ranboo was unsure. He seemed to find the answer, because then he was speaking up again, turning back around to his book. “Yeah. Phil will help you out if you need it,” he responded simply, lifting his mug and taking a careful sip. 

Ranboo nodded, looking back down to the mug in his hands. “...Okay,” he said back, and his voice was quiet. 

The sound of the basement door opened, and the sound of his cow mooing and Phil murmuring to the animal reached his ears, causing a smile to pass across his face. 

It was at that moment that he decided that moving in next to Technoblade and Philza maybe wasn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> if you've enjoyed, i'll be working on some more fics within the next few days! i hope to start something long-term soon. :]
> 
> you can find me on twitter at [@saitbear.](https://twitter.com/saItbear)
> 
> you can also check out my other writings if you check out my series below. <3


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